Peter MacKay

Peter MacKay is a former Nova Scotia Member of Parliament, and the past minister of justice, defence and foreign affairs and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. He is a lawyer and candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada.

I feel compelled to address Mr. Michael Harris’ recycling of opposition myths in his article dated August 25. It is laden with inaccuracies, not to mention a vicious personal rant. I appreciate the opportunity in this response to address this menu of mistruths and character assassinations — starting with a juvenile reference to the “reach for the top” team. I will ignore some of the more petty references to my intelligence and personal relationships.

But, ironically, I wasn’t awarded an honorary doctorate of laws like Mr. Harris — I did it the old-fashioned way, successfully completing three years of law school, articling, passing the bar exams and practicing law as defence counsel and Crown prosecutor. After entering public life I was given the confidence of my constituents and elected six times in my home province of Nova Scotia. Since 2006, as part of the government, I’ve had the honour of serving as Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, and now as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Referencing my comments addressing Mr. Trudeau’s admission of marijuana use, I direct Mr. Harris — who has said he prides himself on research — to simply look at Section 4 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, where possession of marijuana is clearly identified as a criminal offence. Subsection 4 (3) of the Criminal Code says: “A person is in possession when he has knowledge and control of it.”